


We're Falling Through Space, You and Me

by HouseSatis



Series: Space Girlfriends [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Because we all need that in our lives, F/F, Flustered Thirteen, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:13:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27056236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HouseSatis/pseuds/HouseSatis
Summary: The Doctor and Bill consider their feelings for one another and watch as the Earth is shaped into existence, 4.5 billion years ago.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor/Bill Potts
Series: Space Girlfriends [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1974691
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	We're Falling Through Space, You and Me

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick disclaimer: I'm no scientist, so much of the astronomy talk was taken from wikipedia and such :-)

They’d been travelling together for a couple of months now, and things had been going smoothly - which, when discussing travelling with the Doctor, generally meant chaotic, but in a fun way. Sometimes, when they were together in the TARDIS and the Doctor became distracted with the controls, systems and contraptions of it, Bill still paused for a moment or two to watch her, unnoticed - she was so _different_. Still her beloved friend, that was sure, but so much had changed about her, like she was now fueled by some different sort of energy, she often seemed to burst and glow with the intensity of it. Against her better judgement, sometimes - just sometimes, Bill felt her own heart become warm and tender with the thought of her, of their memories together. Last week, it had been a planet where an entire ocean had become frozen, and they had walked through the enormous waves of ice, hand in hand so as to hold on to each other for balance in the slippery frozen surface. Before that, a terrifying occasion in which a spaceship was nearly swallowed by a black hole, only to be saved at the last moment when the Doctor took the lead and managed to divert the course of the vessel.

Each day, the TARDIS materialised in her room and then it was time to go - Bill simply ran in and didn’t stop running until she was back home, she often tried to get the Doctor to stay for tea or dinner, but the Time Lord always became awkward and fidgety then, babbling some poor excuse that didn’t really make sense; Bill never had the heart to press her about it though, the Doctor always seemed so genuinely flustered. The previous Doctor, the first one she’d known, he was never like that, and they had often snacked on chips together while talking and gazing at the stars, he was always so full of stories and wonders to share. This one though - the new Doctor, however loyal and kind, was often closed off, like something made her uncomfortable but she wasn’t sure how to approach the topic. “Still figuring herself out, I guess”, Bill thought, and let her be.

There was an evening though, when something about their dynamics changed. Bill had just entered the TARDIS and today she was all smiles - a girl from the university, had asked her out and they had a date later that night. Having a time travelling friend, though, she supposed it would be no problem if they went out for a bit and had some fun before the occasion. The Doctor was waiting inside, leaning back against the console, her coat off and wearing a deep blue sweater with a rainbow across her chest, hands in her pockets, a wide and honest smile brightening her face.

“Well, someone’s happy today!” she began, walking around the console towards the controls of her ship.

“Yeah, big day today! Gotta be back by 6PM though, need to get ready for tonight!”

“Oh! What’s the big occasion?” the Doctor raised an eyebrow playfully.

“Nothing big, really, just a date. I do always arrive from our trips completely disheveled though, so I’ll _probably_ need a shower before going out.” Bill laughed.

The Doctor laughed too, briefly, and set about fiddling with the controls of the TARDIS, arranging their take-off. She would need to get creative with this one.

A few seconds later, they were stepping out of the ship and into a world Bill hadn’t expected (or that’s what the Doctor hoped for). Since Bill had taken an interest in astronomy during the Doctor’s previous incarnation when he lectured at the university, she felt it was only right to finally take her to see a little bit of what she’d studied about. 

“4.5 billion years in the past, give or take. And that - that is the solar nebula.” the Doctor began, outstretching an arm, presenting the wonder before them. Though they had the TARDIS door open and looked out, the ship was still travelling through time, though not in space, and all around them was light and movement. “The nebula began a contraction, triggered by the shock wave from a nearby supernova, which made the nebula begin to rotate.” she continued, passionately, as it all played out before their eyes “As it began to accelerate, its angular momentum, gravity, and inertia flattened it into a protoplanetary disk perpendicular to its axis of rotation. Small perturbations due to collisions and the angular momentum of other large debris created the means by which kilometer-sized protoplanets began to form, orbiting the nebular center.” the Doctor explained, gesturing widely.

Bill’s eyes glistened with astonishment while she breathlessly revelled in it all. The Doctor paused to gaze at her for a moment - _Bill Potts, how far you’ve come! All the beauty you’ve seen and carry within you_ , the Doctor thought, quite proud of her companion and of herself for having shown her something that caused such an impact.

“But the center of the nebula, you see, didn’t have that same momentum, and so it collapsed! And with so much contraction, a T Tauri star ignited and evolved into the Sun - your Sun, there it is!” the Doctor pointed, stunned though she’d seen it all before - the Universe never failed to constantly surprise her. “And right there, in the outer part of the nebula, that’s matter beginning to condense around density perturbations and dust particles! Do you remember studying the phenomenon of accretion, Bill?”

“I- I think so…” Bill stuttered, quite speechless. She couldn’t take her eyes of it all, though her mind quickly shot back to the Doctor’s lectures at the university.

“Well, that’s it right there. Successively larger fragments of dust and debris clumped together to form planets! And right over there, just below that bigger one, you see? That’s Earth - or rather, will be Earth, in about 20 million years! Hold on.” she said, running back to the console and fiddling a bit with some buttons and turning a switch. Things began to evolve quicker then, and Bill simply stood there, awestruck, until the Doctor ran back to join her.

Both women stood side by side and watched as the Solar System formed, out of the darkness and into the light of existence, miraculously alive. The formation of the Moon, the first continents of the Earth, the composing of its’ atmosphere and its’ oceans. Bill took the Doctor’s hand then, silently, and squeezed it. Perhaps because Bill wasn’t looking straight at her then, the Doctor didn’t feel too flustered at this, only grateful. In a way, it was like introducing two old friends, and watching them get along - Bill and the Universe, they made quite a pair. They continued watching until the Earth began to look like the one they knew as it orbited around the Sun in that symmetrical, meticulously calculated rhythm, along with all the other planets of the Solar System, each at their own pace. 

“We should be approaching the nineteenth century by the looks of it. That’s almost the Earth you know, now, just a bit younger.” the Doctor grinned at Bill, who then turned her gaze for the first time to face the woman beside her.

“Thank you for this, Doctor. Really.” she said, her own teary brown eyes looking right into the Doctor’s hazel and impossibly old ones. She wondered about all those eyes had already seen, and all they would see long after she herself was gone.

“Oh! Don’t mention it.” the Doctor smiled, looking away and at last feeling the awkwardness creep back in, though it wasn’t enough to make her let go of Bill’s hand. They looked on.

“Aaand, there it is! Twenty first century, I should think! Welcome back home, Bill Potts. Shall we go down?” the Doctor smiled playfully, running back to the console and arranging their descent. “Oh, and you should probably close the door for this bit!”

Bill did as she was told, and waited for the TARDIS’ whirring to finish, an indication that they had landed successfully. When the door was opened again, they were in Bill’s room - at 6PM sharp, and Bill felt quite dizzy, her mind struggling to process their displacement in time and space and all she had just seen, only to be back home so quickly. The Doctor was at her side, one hand on her arm and another at her waist as she stumbled into her room, heading towards the bed.

“Alright?” the Doctor asked after a moment.

“Stunned!” Bill exclaimed.

“Oh yes, 4.5 billion years of history right before your eyes will do that, I suppose!” the Doctor smiled playfully, ever so proud of herself.

“So that was it then, the Earth being born - condensing out of a nebula and into existence! I really just saw that and now I’m back in my room, on the very planet I just saw evolve for 4.5 billion years in outer space!” Bill continued, wide-eyed.

“Oh, yes!” the Doctor smiled “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Better view from out there than from here, I suppose!” Bill laughed, gesturing around her own room.

“Oh, I don’t know. I think the view is quite lovely from here as well.” the Doctor said. Bill raised both eyebrows at this, surprised.

“I- I mean… Well, I mean. Humanity, obviously. You know! Mankind, its’ achievements and- and all that! Lovely people, you lot!” the Doctor babbled, disconcerted, urging her own blood to _not_ make her face look all flushed and pink.

“Yes, of course!” Bill came to her aid.

They paused then, silently, looked at one another, unsure and expectant.

“Well! I suppose you need to get ready now, don’t you? I should probably just - you know, leave…” the Doctor said, in a way that clearly meant she did not _actually_ want to leave, but didn’t have a clue how to say so.

“Get ready?” Bill asked.

“For your… Date, isn’t it?” 

“Oh!” Bill exclaimed, suddenly. “Yes! Oh my god, Doctor, I’d forgotten all about it!” she got up at once, walking about the room in search of something to wear.

The Doctor gave a sad smile then, and bowed her head in resignation - that was alright, that’s how it was meant to be, and she shouldn’t entertain any thoughts as to otherwise. It just couldn’t be, and she knew it. Watching the universe expand and unfold around them and run around in it, laughing and finding out mysteries together - that would have to be enough. Seeing the Doctor standing there like that, already walking back into her TARDIS all alone, however, made Bill pause for a moment.

“Actually, Doctor… You know what?”

The Doctor turned around, waiting for her to finish.

“I don’t really feel like going out tonight!” Bill shrugged. “I’m just gonna text her and say maybe next time.” she said, already pulling out her phone and typing something into it.

“You’re going to miss your date?! You were so excited to go!” the Doctor was perplexed.

“Yeah, I was. Not anymore, though. I think there’s something else I’d rather do.” Bill smiled.

Only a few minutes later, they were sitting at the roof of the university, at their usual spot there, sharing some chips and gazing at the stars they had just seen from far, far above. The Doctor told Bill about how the Moon had formed, and how it was actually the egg of an enormous alien creature, at which point Bill laughed and stated she didn’t believe a word of it, though the Doctor would swear on anything that she had seen it hatch. In the end, they talked throughout the night and into the sunrise, which the Doctor watched alone - Bill fast asleep on her shoulder, a warm hand holding her own. She could feel it all, of course - the turn of the Earth. The ground beneath their feet spinning at 1,000 miles an hour and the entire planet hurtling around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour, and she could feel it. The Doctor leaned her head against Bill’s then, and with a sigh, whispered though no one could hear it:

“We’re falling through space, you and me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! Leave some feedback if you can :-)


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